Saturday, October 16, 1999 Published at 11:10 GMT 12:10 UKWorld: Asia-PacificChina warning over Falun GongFalun Gong was banned in July amid protests outside official buildingsThe Chinese Government is taking further action against the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which it banned last July as a threat to internal security.

China's State Council, the cabinet, has ordered civil servants who belong to the Falun Gong to leave it, or face demotion or dismissal.

It said leniency would be shown to those who did leave, but those it described as plotters or organisers would be punished.

According to Chinese media reports, some government officials had organised illegal Falun Gong assemblies.

Millions of members

Members do regular breathing exercises

The movement has tens of millions of adherents across China and claims more than 100 million members worldwide.

It was banned after a mass demonstration in Beijing.

Falun Gong - which adheres to a mixture of
Buddhism, Taoism and breathing exercises - challenged the Communist Party's monopoly on power in April when more than 10,000 members besieged the party compound in Beijing in a peaceful demonstration to demand official recognition of their faith.